Need advice on a computer purchase

[Doombot]

Don't do liquid cooling. A) You don't need it unless you're over clocking your system and B) if you don't know about it you won't be able to easily maintain it.

It also looks ugly. Like something the Borg got ahold of. =)

I purchased some of the parts. I really... really need validation on the motherboard. I just want to make sure it works with what I've purchased so far.

Here's what I want from the motherboard.

1. To work well with the chip I just bought.
2. Allow for two gig sticks per slot.
3. Allow for 4 gigs of ram.
4. Work with 64 bit OS systems.
5. Allow me to put in 4 more gig later for a total of 8 if I so choose. I probably won't do it but I'll like to be able to if I wanted.

Purchased Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

Purchased ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail

Purchased Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

[BlueCross]

I think that 'E8400' designation is wrong.  I can't find any Intel products with that number on their site.

[Doombot]

I think that 'E8400' designation is wrong.  I can't find any Intel products with that number on their site.

*slightlyworriedlook*

Intel® Core™2 Duo Desktop Processor E8400

I found it with google and they're talking about it at Newegg with that number.

Hopefully this isn't like buying a Sonie television or a Vii.

[Petrarch]

I've not found anything bad said about it other than the stock heatsink being a bit weedy.

It appears to be a Wolfdale class of chip, which as best as I can tell is the newest revision of the dual core CPU's (with the Yorkfield type being the quad core) and the 8400 is the mid range model as there's an 8500 model as well.

[Doombot]

I've not found anything bad said about it other than the stock heatsink being a bit weedy.

It appears to be a Wolfdale class of chip, which as best as I can tell is the newest revision of the dual core CPU's (with the Yorkfield type being the quad core) and the 8400 is the mid range model as there's an 8500 model as well.

I heard the same thing. It was basically along the lines of "Well... it's okay... and if you aren't going to overclock then a guess you could do with this..." The comments didn't inspire much confidence.

So since I live in Vegas (where it get's incredibly hot) and I would like the option to overclock (even just a little bit), I thought it best to get another better cooler.

[Doombot]

Here's what I got so far


Purchased: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail


Purchased: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail


Purchased: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail


Purchased: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound


Purchased: BELKIN F8E093 Anti-Static Wrist Strap - Retail


Purchased: American Recorder CO-53108 Anti-Static Glove


Purchased: ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail


Purchased: VANTEC Nexstar 3 NST-360U2-BK Aluminum 3.5" USB 2.0 External Enclosure


Purchased: Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM


Purchased: PC Power & Cooling S75QB EPS12V 750W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, ULC, CE, CB, RoHS - Retail

This is out of stock but I think I'll find it somewhere else. The memory is getting good reviews.

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

I may wait on the secondary hard drive and get it within a few weeks. I still need to purchase the four gigs of memory and the graphic card. I've been listening to the advice but I haven't made my final decision yet.

So soon and my pile of computer parts will be here. =) Freedom Force and Peggle are going to run so well!

Here's some of the thought behind some of my purchases. It's my first time building a computer and I felt it was time to 'learn'. Having computers that were purchased outright was convienent but it turns out that some of them are hard to upgrade due to designs that force/entice you to buy from the company. So I wanted something that would give me flexibility. I also felt with the free shipping and lack of sales tax the cost would be lower. Thanks for all the help so far. =)

I leaned toward components that had a high rating. Since it's my first build, the less extra challenges the better.

So I hope to get the items though the week and have it done before the end of next Sunday.

ps. I also need a version of Windows Vista. I see that some versions won't work if I change the machine like changing the motherboard. So which version of Vista should I get?

[The SysMan]

Dont forget to purchase: Mallet.
For intimidating the computer into doing its best every time

[Doombot]

Bah... I had a nice long post with hyperlinks and pictures of my new computer parts due to 40 clicks and I clicked the close tab button and lost it all.

Oh well. This is what I got. I'm still waiting for the toolkit and the CPU to be delivered.

To take advantage of this new computer system I went ahead and ordered the Fallout collection from Amazon. I'll of course put Fallout Tactics in the proper file.

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
American Recorder CO-53108 Anti-Static Glove
MSI NX8800GTS 512M OC GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S203N - OEM
Rosewill RTK-015 15 Piece Standard Computer Tool Kit - Retail
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
BELKIN F8E093 Anti-Static Wrist Strap - Retail
PC Power & Cooling S75QB EPS12V 750W Power Supply - Retail
1 x Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
VANTEC Nexstar 3 NST-360U2-BK 3.5" USB 2.0 External Enclosure - Retail
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
SAMSUNG 2253BW Black 22" 2ms(GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP Support 300 cd/m2 DC 8000:1 - Retail
Reaper 4gb kit (2gb x 2) pc2-8500 1066mhz 5-5-5-18 240-pin ddr2 dimm w/reaper hpc heatsink

[Hoopy Frood]

Bah... I had a nice long post with hyperlinks and pictures of my new computer parts due to 40 clicks and I clicked the close tab button and lost it all.

You use Firefox, right? Don't you know? You can get tabs back, and usually with all the stuff you typed still existing if you do one of two things:

1) Right click in the tab area and select "Undo Close Tab"

2) Under the History menu, go to the hierarchal menu of "Recently Closed Tabs" and find the one you accidentally closed.

The first option only works if you still have more than one tab open. The second option is always available. Both should have the same results with no information lost. (Provided you didn't close the whole browser window.)

[Doombot]

1) Right click in the tab area and select "Undo Close Tab"

Glee!!!
-----
Ok. Almost all of my stuff has been delivered. I'm waiting on the CPU and the toolkit. Minor things.

Here's what I finally decided on getting. I'm still waiting on the secondary hard drive and I want to see what the sound sounds like before I get a sound card. If the sound from the motherboard is ok then I'll just stick with that.

OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM (The SP1 version was out of stock) I'm taking the chance that I won't be upgrading the motherboard so that's why I went with this version of Vista.

American Recorder CO-53108 Anti-Static Glove With a top hat and cane, I'll look stylish.

MSI NX8800GTS 512M OC GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail Free Witcher PC game w/ purchase, while supplies last

SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - OEM

Rosewill RTK-015 15 Piece Standard Computer Tool Kit - Retail

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

BELKIN F8E093 Anti-Static Wrist Strap - Retail

PC Power & Cooling S75QB EPS12V 750W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, ULC, CE, CB, RoHS - Retail

Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

VANTEC Nexstar 3 NST-360U2-BK Aluminum 3.5" USB 2.0 External Enclosure - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail

SAMSUNG 2253BW Black 22" 2ms(GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP Support 300 cd/m2 DC 8000:1 - Retail

[Doombot]

Well... I broke the plastic pins on the heatsink. I did some reviews and some people are in awe of the easy installation and others say the legs are off. I think I got one of those.

I then attached the default cooler in 20 seconds.

Sigh...

Then I though... I spent about 32 dollars for this. Not that it's going to break me but I might as well use it, especially since it'll help my computer more. So I'm getting some screws and doing what someone else did. Their legs broke and they just attached it with screws and it's been working fine.

Metal screws, non conductive washer.

[Doombot]

So far it's been a bit slow. It's a slow and deliberate process. The heatsink wouldn't attach and I broke the plastic legs. I removed the plastic legs off the default heatsink and I got three of the legs to click into place. It feels VERY solid so I'm leaving it like it is.

The silver paste smeared over the top of the CPU and I had to clean that up. I finally installed the heatsink and then realized the fan was blowing in the wrong direction so I had to take it out. Finally I got it installed and then realized I didn't put washers under the motherboard to reduce the chances of shorts. So I had to take the mother board out AGAIN, and then screw it back in.

So I'm at the point where I'm installing all the power supplies. I'm just a bit scared of installing power since I'm not 100% sure that this plug goes into this. So I'm viewing PC installation videos from Tiger Direct with that guy who looks like Hal Sparks.

[Doombot]

Yeah! I got my computer set up. It's SO fast and I still haven't modified the ram to run faster or even overclock it. I'll adjust the ram but leave the CPU alone.

I hooked up most of the items on my computer and it wouldn't start. There was a green light on the motherboard lit up but it wouldn't go into the bios. So I took a nap and I woke up thinking: "Why doesn't it start?"

Then I went: "Did you hit the power button?"

Sure enough. =) I didn't hit and and I got a long beep. I googled that and my graphic card needed something plugged in. Then my CDrom needed one more connection. Then it was just getting hte 64 bit version of my graphic card driver and it was done. Turns out my old hard drives are SATA so I'm able to hook them up and access my old data. =)

Vista's pretty nice. It's a bit annoying to keep giving permission to programs but so far I like it. Right now I'm sharing my Buckner and Garcia collection while my boyfriend plays Championship Pacman. It's very nice to hear my music library though our television. =)

Now to play Fallout.

[Brugdor]

Grats Botsy! 

[BlueCross]

Yeah! I got my computer set up. It's SO fast and I still haven't modified the ram to run faster or even overclock it. I'll adjust the ram but leave the CPU alone.

I hooked up most of the items on my computer and it wouldn't start. There was a green light on the motherboard lit up but it wouldn't go into the bios. So I took a nap and I woke up thinking: "Why doesn't it start?"

Then I went: "Did you hit the power button?"

Sure enough. =) I didn't hit and and I got a long beep. I googled that and my graphic card needed something plugged in. Then my CDrom needed one more connection. Then it was just getting hte 64 bit version of my graphic card driver and it was done. Turns out my old hard drives are SATA so I'm able to hook them up and access my old data. =)

Vista's pretty nice. It's a bit annoying to keep giving permission to programs but so far I like it. Right now I'm sharing my Buckner and Garcia collection while my boyfriend plays Championship Pacman. It's very nice to hear my music library though our television. =)

Now to play Fallout.

You can 'right-click' on the Icon and set 'Run as Administrator' (if you haven't already done this).  Then you only have that annoyance once instead of every time you run a program.

Good idea on the screws instead of the heat sink.  I need to do that.  Is there some place that lists specs for screw length/size?

Hmm.. that didn't sound quite right.  Sounded good, but not right...